The 2024–25 season is Connacht Rugby's fourth season in the United Rugby Championship, their 31st season of professional rugby and their 137th season of representative rugby since the foundation of the Connacht Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. Along with competing in the URC and its Irish Shield competition, the club also participated in the 2024-25 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Connacht had a reduced capacity of 6,170 at The Sportsground this season as expansion works are carried out. For the first time, Connacht hosted one of their home matches, against Munster at the 25,000-seat MacHale Park gaelic games stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo.
Connacht Rugby drew an average home attendance of 7,133 in the 2024-25 URC season.https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/2025/04/04/in-another-staggered-season-rugbys-urc-has-lurched-along-all-the-while-breaking-attendance-records/
Senior squad
Connacht Rugby United Rugby Championship squadProps Jack Aungier Finlay Bealham Denis Buckley Peter Dooley Jordan Duggan Sam Illo Temi Lasisi
Hookers Eoin de Buitléar Dave Heffernan Adam McBurney Dylan Tierney-Martin
Locks Oisín Dowling Joe Joyce Darragh Murray Niall Murray David O'ConnorBack row Paul Boyle Shamus Hurley-Langton Sean Jansen* Oisín McCormack Seán O'Brien Conor Oliver Cian Prendergast (c) Josh Murphy
Scrum-halves Caolin Blade Colm Reilly Matthew Devine Ben Murphy
Fly-halves Jack Carty JJ Hanrahan David Hawkshaw Josh IoaneCentres Bundee Aki Cathal Forde Shane Jennings Hugh Gavin
Wings Mack Hansen John Porch Andrew Smith Byron Ralston* Shayne Bolton*
Fullbacks Santiago Cordero Piers O'Conor* Chay Mullins 7s (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players including 7s. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. L denotes a player on loan at the club. ST denotes a short-term signing at the club. Players and their allocated positions from the Connacht Rugby website.
Academy squad
Connacht Rugby Academy squadProps Billy Bohan (1) Fiachna Barrett (2)
Hookers Matthew Victory(2)
Locks None currently namedBack row Max Flynn (1) Eanna McCarthy (1)
Scrum-halves Tomás Farthing (1)
Fly-halves Seán Naughton (2) Harry West (3)Centres John Devine (3) Daniel Hawkshaw (3) Shane Mallon (3)
Wings Finn Treacy (2)
Fullbacks James Nicholson (2) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players, number in brackets indicates players stage in the three-year academy cycle. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Connacht Rugby website.
Transfers
United Rugby Championship
Main table
Results
Connacht are eliminated from the competition.
URC Irish Shield
Challenge Cup
Pool matches
Knock-out phase
Round of 16 Connacht finished as the highest ranked side in the pool stages of the Challenge Cup, winning home field advantage for every round of the competition until the final. In the round of 16, they face the 16th seeded Cardiff Rugby.
Quarterfinal
Connacht are eliminated from the competition.
Home attendance End of Season.
Domestic LeagueEPRC Challenge CupTotal League FixturesTotal Attendance Average Attendance Highest Lowest League FixturesTotal Attendance Average Attendance Highest Lowest Total Attendance Average Attendance2024–25 United Rugby Championship 964,201 7,133 27,580 3,4702024–25 European Rugby Challenge Cup 417,042 4,261 6,129 2,672 81,243 6,753
References